ATLANTIC, IOWA – Officials with Cass Health say the organization welcomed a record number of providers during the past year and continues to recruit more primary care physicians, specialists, and advanced practice providers to meet local demand. CEO Brett Altman says “We’ve seen an enormous amount of growth over the past five or six years, and we expect the local and regional demand for health care services to continue to increase. We’re committed to always being here for the communities we serve, and that means we must constantly be thinking about having the right number of staff to meet patients’ needs.”

Officials say during the last year, Cass Health welcomed several six providers, including: Dr. Adam Verhoef; Kellie Enderson, ARNP; Stacey Kasperbauer, ARNP; Emily James, ARNP; Emily Wittrock, ARNP, and Kevin Bohac, CRNA. Additionally, Cass Health added 13 specialists including Dr. Anjan Talukdar, Dr. John Park, Dr. Sumit Mukherjee, Dr. Paul Ganesan, Dr. Blake Bodendorfer, Dr. Rick Rinehart, Dr. Caliste Hsu, Dr. Brian Boes, Dr. Jeffrey Sartin, Dr. Anthony DeCicco, Dr. Thomas Schmidt, Dr. Stephen Slade, and Dr. Gino Chesini.

“During all of this, Dr. Elaine Berry also transitioned from a full-time physician to a full-time Chief Medical Officer, which also amplified our need to hire more new doctors,” said Altman. Chief Human Resources Officer Kolton Hewlett stressed that recruitment of family medicine providers is a continuous process, especially for rural facilities. He commented that, “We are thankful to be in a position where we are able to add new providers to our team. It’s good for our patients, and it’s a win for the community. With that being said, it saddens us to announce that one of our physicians will be leaving Cass Health next year.”

Dr. Edna Becht just announced that she will leave her practice at Cass Health in the summer of 2023. Dr. Becht will be moving to the Des Moines area to be closer to family. She spoke of her time at Cass Health as “living the dream.” “Cass Health has been a dream come true for a fresh residency graduate who wanted to do it all. I am humbled and grateful to have been welcomed into the hospital and the community with eager and open arms, and I am proud of the work I’ve done here,” said Dr. Becht.

Hewlett commented that, “We expect changes like this because as their families grow, or their needs and careers evolve, providers may change jobs. Coupling that knowledge with our forecasted growth, we are actively recruiting new family medicine providers all the time. We are excited to share that Massena native Whitney Schafer will be joining the Cass Health team as an advanced practice provider in December 2022. Additionally, just this week we signed another physician, Dr. Jeals Brines, a Leon, Iowa native who is completing family medicine residency in Des Moines and will begin at Cass Health in September 2024.”

For more information about the providers at Cass Health, visit casshealth.org.

(Creston, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Union County say no injuries were reported, after a semi tractor-trailer rolled into a ditch late Wednesday night. The 2004 Volvo semi driven by 34-year-old Adam J. Leith, of Creston, was traveling north on U-S Highway 169 at around 11:17-pm., near miler marker 37 (south of Lorimor), when Leith swerved to miss a deer. The rig went out of control after the trailer blew a tire. The semi tipped over onto the driver’s side.

When the semi tipped over, it dumped a load of corn onto the roadway. The vehicle came to rest in the east ditch, on the driver’s side. Damage to the semi was estimated at $80,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The attorney for one of the Fairfield teenagers accused of murdering high school Spanish teacher Nohema Graber is challenging evidence gathered in the investigation. Willard Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Goodale were both 16 years old when Graber was killed on November 2nd of last year. Miller’s defense attorney says police gave Miller’s mother false information to convince her to sign a permission form approving an interrogation.

That’s Annalisa Clifford Gold, the mother of one of the suspects. She spoke a court hearing Wednesday with her son’s attorney, Nathan Olson. Clifford Gold testified that once she reached the police station where her son was being interviewed, she asked repeatedly to see him, but was not allowed in the room. Prosecutor Scott Brown, an assistant attorney general, said the 16-year-old — who is being tried in adult court — told investigators he understood his rights to stay silent and ask for an attorney before the interview started. And Brown said permission forms meant to protect juveniles do not apply in cases like this.

Brown said in Iowa, teens who are 16 or older and accused of serious crimes like murder are not protected by juvenile court rules. The judge who presided over the evidence hearing did not indicate when he might rule on the objections. Miller is set to stand trial in March in Council Bluffs. Court documents released this week suggest a possible motive for Graber’s murder. Miller allegedly met with the Spanish teacher on the day of her murder, to discuss his grades.

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Board of Directors recently approved more than $4.7 million in federal and state grants to assist 44 agencies with homelessness assistance initiatives during the 2023 calendar year. IFA Executive Director Debi Durham says “The homelessness assistance awards announced today will have a direct impact in helping thousands of Iowans in their time of need. Iowa’s homeless service professionals work tirelessly to help get Iowans back on their feet and into permanent housing and this funding will aid in those efforts.”

The funding is made available through the federal Emergency Solutions Grant program and the State-funded Shelter Assistance Fund. IFA conducted a two-year combined ESG and SAF competition for funds in 2021. Applications were scored in several categories, including project design, experience and capacity, community partnerships, performance, budget and grants management. 

In Pottawattamie County, three agencies received grants:

• Heartland Family Service received an Emergency Solutions Grant in the amount of $61,790;
• MICAH House Corporation received a Shelter Assistance Fund grant award of $132,232;
• and, New Visions Homeless Services receives a Emergency Solutions Grant for $77,793, AND a Shelter Assistance Fund grant for $144,076.

The complete awards list is available here.

Individuals in need of homelessness assistance should contact the coordinated entry system, online at iowahousinghelp.com or by phone at: 833-739-0065. Residents of Des Moines or Polk County should call the local centralized intake: 515-248-1850.  Additional information….

Emergency Solutions Grant Program
The primary purpose of the Federal Emergency Solutions Grant program is to help Iowans and their families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness. Examples of eligible services include street outreach, shelter, homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing (rental assistance paired with case management and supportive services). The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and by the Iowa Finance Authority in Iowa. Twenty-seven agencies were awarded a total of more than $2.9 million in 2023 Emergency Solutions Grant Program funds.

Shelter Assistance Fund

The State-funded Shelter Assistance Fund program provides assistance to help with the costs of operations of homeless and domestic violence shelters, essential services for the homeless and evaluation and reporting services. Thirty-three agencies were awarded a total of nearly $1.8 million in 2023 Shelter Assistance Fund grants.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports the Sheriff’s Department’s “Operation Blessing,” which strives to make sure every child in the rural areas of the County receives a Christmas gift, will be slightly different this year, from years past. Sheriff Palmer says “We will be taking requests from November 12, 2022 through December 10, 2022. This is to hopefully ensure that requests for gifts can be filled without running into a shortage of items to purchase.”

The Page County Sheriff’s Office “Operation Blessing program covers children from birth to age 14, who reside in the communities of Shambaugh, Braddyville, College Springs, Yorktown, Coin, Blanchard, and Northboro as well as the rural areas, of Page County. The child must be a resident of the aforementioned communities, or rural Page County. The requests must come from a parent or guardian of the child and can be called into the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 712-542-5193, or reported in person by the parent or guardian at the Page County Sheriff’s Office located at 323 N 15th Street in Clarinda, IA. Each child will be given a first and second choice. It is suggested that a toy and clothing be requested.

Anyone wishing to donate money to the Page County Sheriff’s Office Operation Blessing program can either stop by the Page County Sheriff’s Office or mail the monetary donation to the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 323 North 15th Clarinda, Iowa, 51632. Monetary donations are taken year-round at the Office. The Page County Reserve Program started Operation Blessing in the mid 1980’s to ensure that every child in the rural areas of Page County had the opportunity to receive a gift at Christmas. It has continued every year since for almost 40 years. In these times, the program is adapting. Department deputies and staff will be delivering gifts just prior to Christmas Eve.

Sheriff Palmer says “Our current times are to say the least trying and unsure. We as an Office strive to find some normalcy for the children of our County in these unsure and trying times. I would once again like to thank everyone for their donations and support of the program throughout the years, for without monetary donations, this program would not be able to continue.” He thanks also the staff at the Sheriff’s Office / Jail for their assistance in everything they do with this program. He says they go above and beyond with the call taking, shopping, wrapping and organization of this program. They along with the organizations, businesses, and individuals who donate make this program a success every year. THANK YOU!!!

May everyone have a joy filled and safe Holiday season.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests over the past few weeks. On Oct. 24th, 39-year-old Andrew Grieshaber, of Cumberland, was arrested on the charges of Burglary 2nd Degree and Criminal Mischief 3rd Degree.  Grieshaber was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond. And, on Oct. 22nd, Deputies arrested 38-year-old Fernando Villa-Diaz, of Atlantic, on the charge of OWI 3rd Offense.  Villa-Diaz was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

This past Tuesday (11/1), 38-year-old Megan Schroder, of Griswold, was arrested for OWI 2nd Offense.  Schroder was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held until her later release on her own recognizance. And, on Wednesday Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 53-year-old Randy Rush, of Atlantic, for OWI 2nd Offense.  Rush was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held until his later release on his own recognizance.